How to have a summer holiday for just $1

Penina Petersen is Australia’s number one savings blogger and certainly knows how to squeeze a few dollars. The Savings Room blogger is dishing up a travel hack that will pay for your next holiday.

There’s no better time of year than the holiday that follows Christmas. It’s even better when it’s cheap or even free.

This travel hack that will transform the way you plan holidays in 2019 and years to come.

Here’s how you can wrap up flights, travel and accommodation for as little as $1 or even for free.

My magic $1 holiday formula

There are a few words you need to Google right now to make this happen:

• • Airbnb or similar site

  • Relocation Vehicles

  • House-sitting (Optional)

We enjoyed an amazing whirlwind trip to New Zealand using this simple formula. All you need to do is think outside the square and plan ahead to execute the perfect itinerary.

Step 1: How we paid for flights

My first magic word is Airbnb. We advertised the home we live in as a holiday home ahead of time.

Once we secured a booking for our travel period we used the funds to pay for the flights we needed.

We got amazing dollars ($2500 for a week) renting our home out on Airbnb over summer in the coastal town we live in.

Step 2: How we paid for transport and lodging

My next step was to book a relocation vehicle online.

The deal was that we had to deliver the van from Auckland to Christchurch within five days. The van booking was a one-way trip.

It would cost us $1. Some deals include up to $350 in free fuel as well as $100 in allowances. These companies need to move vehicles to new destinations, so they offer discounts to get free drivers.

Here’s a picture of the awesome 4-berth Motorhome we scored:

Source: Apollo Campervans (Getting approval to use photo)

We had to pay money to get the van across from Wellington to Picton. That cost around $450 – but remember we were still ahead from the Airbnb rental – so actually this didn’t cost us anything.

Even so, we figured that we were still getting the camper for $1. This meant if we had paid for it we would have had to pay for both the camper and the crossing of Cook Strait. This would have cost us thousands otherwise.

Step 3: Flight back from the drop-off destination

After a night in Christchurch meeting the locals, we returned the van back to the airport.

Then we caught a flight from Picton to Wellington. From Wellington Airport we picked up another relocation car and travelled to Taupo.

We stayed in a cut-price motel we found online. We paid for this using our original Airbnb profit (aka flight and accommodation fund).

The free petrol was more than enough to deliver the car back to Auckland.

Tip: If you are savvy you can book a free night house-sitting homes in NZ too. That’s where my optional ‘Housesitting’ tip comes in.

You can secure relocation vehicles all over the world. There are also sites that offer repositioning cruise ships.

These deals can give you up to 75% off cruises the world over. The possibilities are endless and exciting.

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